World of Love #5 - Closeness to God

The existence of good and evil allows man to make the right choice, and merit greater closeness to God.

In order that man enjoy the pleasure of his accomplishment, it is imperative that he know that he acted as a matter of free choice, rather than through compulsion. It is for this reason that God gave us free will. We bear full responsibility for our action and full credit for the good we do. We are free to choose between good and evil. This is what makes the choice of good a true accomplishment.

A robot and a puppet can accomplish, but they cannot feel any accomplishment.

If man did not have free will, then he would be little more than a puppet or a robot. Both a robot and a puppet can accomplish things, but they cannot have any feeling of accomplishment. They are mere machines. In a sense, it is free will that makes us more than a machine. If man did not have his free will, his accomplishment would be no more than that of a robot. There would be no feeling of pride or pleasure in it at all.

We can therefore say that free will is required by God's justice. In a deeper sense, we must say that it is required by God's very purpose in creation. For the good that God desired to grant to His world is essentially bestowed as a result of our free will. We can therefore say that free will is one of the most essential ingredients of all creation.

CLINGING TO GOD

But there is a much deeper way of looking at the concept of free will. As discussed earlier, the greatest good that God could give is Himself. The purpose of creation was therefore to give man a chance to come close to God.

When we speak of coming close to God, we are not speaking of physical closeness. God exists in a realm far beyond the mere physical. When we speak of closeness to God, we are speaking of spiritual closeness.

We said earlier that this spiritual closeness involves knowledge and perception of God. But on a deeper level, this is really a result of our closeness to Him. For we cannot know God by looking at Him. We cannot even know Him by meditating or contemplating about Him. There are no symbols in our minds which we can use to even think of God.

Philosophy is equally futile, and for the same reason. We can only extend our thoughts beyond the immediate, using symbols and concepts that we can conceive. But God is utterly beyond our conception. Therefore, the only way in which we can know God and perceive Him is by coming close to Him in a spiritual sense.

But what is closeness in a non-physical sense?

We find a hint in the words of our sages. The Torah states, "You shall follow the Lord your God, fear Him and keep His commandments, obey Him and serve Him, and bind yourself to Him" (Deut. 13:5). The Talmud (Sotah 14a) asks, "How can one bind himself to God? Is it not written, ‘The Lord your God is a consuming fire?'" (Deut. 9:3). The Talmud answers that we bind ourselves to God by imitating His attributes.

We bind ourselves to God by imitating His attributes.

What the Talmud is teaching us is that in a spiritual sense, closeness is resemblance. Two things that resemble each other are close in a spiritual sense. Things that differ are distant. The more two things resemble each other, the closer they are spiritually.

This is expressed even more clearly in the Midrash, commenting on the verse, "You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:2). The Midrash tells us that this passage explains two other passages: "You, who have bound yourselves to God, are all living today" (Deut. 4:4), and "As a loincloth clings to a man's waist, so shall the whole house of Judah cling to Me" (Jeremiah 13:11).

Although the Midrash does not openly state it, it is asking the same question as the Talmud did above. What does the Torah mean when it says that "you have bound yourselves to God," or that the people shall "cling" to Him? The Midrash therefore tells us that these passages are explained by the verse, "You shall be holy, for I am Holy," we bind ourselves to God by working to resemble Him in His holiness. For in a spiritual sense, the more two things resemble each other, the closer they are.

IMAGE OF GOD

We can now understand the reason for free will in a deeper sense.

As we discussed earlier, the good that God's plan has destined for His world is the ultimate good, namely God Himself. His plan is to give a creature, namely man, the opportunity to draw close to Him.

But when we speak of giving such good, we immediately face a dilemma. God is the giver and man is the receiver, and as such, they are two opposites. In a spiritual sense, they are as far from each other as north and south. Giver and receiver are exact opposites. As long as man is a mere receiver, he stands at the opposite pole away from God, the Giver. In a spiritual sense, man and God would then be ultimately distant from each other.

Giver and receiver are polar opposites.

Therefore, God arranged things so that man himself would be the creator of good.

God made man in such a way that he too can create good. Man does so every time he obeys God's commandments. In doing so, he draws God's light to his own being, and thus, rather than being a mere receiver, he becomes a partner with God. The good that man ultimately receives is therefore as much the result of his own efforts as it is a gift of God.

Man therefore receives God's good by himself doing good, thereby resembling God in the greatest degree possible. For man draws close to God by imitating Him, and when he does so, he can be a recipient of God's' good. This is what the psalmist meant when he sang, "God is good to the good" (Psalms 125:4). In order to receive God's goodness, one must himself be good. Our sages interpret this verse by saying, "Let he who is good, come and accept good, from He who is good to the good" (Talmud - Menachot 53b).

In order for this resemblance to be in any way complete, man had to be created with free will. Just as God acts as a free Being, so does man. Just as He operates without prior restraint, so does man. Just as God does good as a matter of His own choice, so does man. According to many commentators, this is one meaning of man having been created in the "image of God." (see Maimonides - Laws of Teshuva 5:1)

GODLINESS OF THE GIVER

We can experience a glimmer of this closeness to God, even in the physical world. The pleasure of accomplishment that we experience when doing good is a touch of this closeness. It is a pure spiritual pleasure, and as such is a reflection of the ultimate spiritual pleasure, namely, closeness to God. When we accomplish good, we are imitating God and bringing Him close to us, and therefore feel an inkling of this pleasure.

On the other hand, the ultimate spiritual pain is being separated from God. This explains the psychological pain experienced when one is forced to accept charity from others. When one is a taker rather than a giver, then he is ultimately far from God, the Giver.

Our sages therefore describe this feeling as shame. They say that if God were to give us His good as a free gift, then we would experience shame in accepting it. For what is shame? Most often, it involves being caught in an improper situation. A person experiences shame when he is caught doing something that he should not or when he finds himself in an improper place. But for a mere receiver to be close to God is also an improper place. Therefore, we describe this feeling as one of shame.

In Part 6, we'll examine how "doing good unto others" is a key component of spiritual health.

Article 5 of 8 in the series A World Of Love

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About the Author

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan was a multi-faceted, prolific exponent of Jewish thought -- skilled in both Kabbalah and Jewish law, as well as the natural sciences (he was listed in "Who’s Who in Physics"). He suffered an untimely death at age 48.

I just got married and have an important question: Can we eat rice on Passover? My wife grew up eating it, and I did not. Is this just a matter of family tradition?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The Torah instructs a Jew not to eat (or even possess) chametz all seven days of Passover (Exodus 13:3). "Chametz" is defined as any of the five grains (wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye) that came into contact with water for more than 18 minutes. Chametz is a serious Torah prohibition, and for that reason we take extra protective measures on Passover to prevent any mistakes.

Hence the category of food called "kitniyot" (sometimes referred to generically as "legumes"). This includes rice, corn, soy beans, string beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, mustard, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Even though kitniyot cannot technically become chametz, Ashkenazi Jews do not eat them on Passover. Why?

Products of kitniyot often appear like chametz products. For example, it can be hard to distinguish between rice flour (kitniyot) and wheat flour (chametz). Also, chametz grains may become inadvertently mixed together with kitniyot. Therefore, to prevent confusion, all kitniyot were prohibited.

In Jewish law, there is one important distinction between chametz and kitniyot. During Passover, it is forbidden to even have chametz in one's possession (hence the custom of "selling chametz"). Whereas it is permitted to own kitniyot during Passover and even to use it - not for eating - but for things like baby powder which contains cornstarch. Similarly, someone who is sick is allowed to take medicine containing kitniyot.

What about derivatives of kitniyot - e.g. corn oil, peanut oil, etc? This is a difference of opinion. Many will use kitniyot-based oils on Passover, while others are strict and only use olive or walnut oil.

Finally, there is one product called "quinoa" (pronounced "ken-wah" or "kin-o-ah") that is permitted on Passover even for Ashkenazim. Although it resembles a grain, it is technically a grass, and was never included in the prohibition against kitniyot. It is prepared like rice and has a very high protein content. (It's excellent in "cholent" stew!) In the United States and elsewhere, mainstream kosher supervision agencies certify it "Kosher for Passover" -- look for the label.

Interestingly, the Sefardi Jewish community does not have a prohibition against kitniyot. This creates the strange situation, for example, where one family could be eating rice on Passover - when their neighbors will not. So am I going to guess here that you are Ashkenazi and your wife is Sefardi. Am I right?

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (1194-1270), known as Nachmanides, and by the acronym of his name, Ramban. Born in Spain, he was a physician by trade, but was best-known for authoring brilliant commentaries on the Bible, Talmud, and philosophy. In 1263, King James of Spain authorized a disputation (religious debate) between Nachmanides and a Jewish convert to Christianity, Pablo Christiani. Nachmanides reluctantly agreed to take part, only after being assured by the king that he would have full freedom of expression. Nachmanides won the debate, which earned the king's respect and a prize of 300 gold coins. But this incensed the Church: Nachmanides was charged with blasphemy and he was forced to flee Spain. So at age 72, Nachmanides moved to Jerusalem. He was struck by the desolation in the Holy City -- there were so few Jews that he could not even find a minyan to pray. Nachmanides immediately set about rebuilding the Jewish community. The Ramban Synagogue stands today in Jerusalem's Old City, a living testimony to his efforts.

It's easy to be intimidated by mean people. See through their mask. Underneath is an insecure and unhappy person. They are alienated from others because they are alienated from themselves.

Have compassion for them. Not pity, not condemning, not fear, but compassion. Feel for their suffering. Identify with their core humanity. You might be able to influence them for the good. You might not. Either way your compassion frees you from their destructiveness. And if you would like to help them change, compassion gives you a chance to succeed.

It is the nature of a person to be influenced by his fellows and comrades (Rambam, Hil. De'os 6:1).

We can never escape the influence of our environment. Our life-style impacts upon us and, as if by osmosis, penetrates our skin and becomes part of us.

Our environment today is thoroughly computerized. Computer intelligence is no longer a science-fiction fantasy, but an everyday occurrence. Some computers can even carry out complete interviews. The computer asks questions, receives answers, interprets these answers, and uses its newly acquired information to ask new questions.

Still, while computers may be able to think, they cannot feel. The uniqueness of human beings is therefore no longer in their intellect, but in their emotions.

We must be extremely careful not to allow ourselves to become human computers that are devoid of feelings. Our culture is in danger of losing this essential aspect of humanity, remaining only with intellect. Because we communicate so much with unfeeling computers, we are in danger of becoming disconnected from our own feelings and oblivious to the feelings of others.

As we check in at our jobs, and the computer on our desk greets us with, "Good morning, Mr. Smith. Today is Wednesday, and here is the agenda for today," let us remember that this machine may indeed be brilliant, but it cannot laugh or cry. It cannot be happy if we succeed, or sad if we fail.

Today I shall...

try to remain a human being in every way - by keeping in touch with my own feelings and being sensitive to the feelings of others.

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